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Hey, everyone, welcome back to We Are the Handsome. Today
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we're talking about one of the greatest privileges of being
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a parent, watching our kids grow up. There are so
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many emotions that come with this, from pride and excitement
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to a little bit of wistfulness. As parents of a
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big family, we get to experience this over and over again,
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and let me tell you, it never gets old. We're
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going to share some of our favorite moments, the unexpected joys,
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and the little things that make parenting so rewarding. So
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grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and let's chat
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about this crazy, beautiful journey. There's something so special about
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first first step, first word, the first time they ride
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a bike without training wheels. Every time one of our
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kids reaches a new milestone, it's like we're experiencing it
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for the first time all over again. I still remember
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when Maddie took her first step, when Morgan took her
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first step, and when all of the other kids took
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their first steps. You know, they had this little determined
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look on their face, like they knew they were about
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to change the game. And once they figured it out,
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oh man, there was no stopping them. It's those moments
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you realize just how quickly time moves, and sometimes you
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just want to slow time down. And then there's the
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school milestones. First day of kindergarten, first lost tooth, first
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school play, first ball game. Seeing their confidence grow with
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each new experience is amazing. It's like watching them unfold
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into who they're meant to be. I sit there and
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watch every one of my kids. Each one learned at
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different times. Not one of my children were the same
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with their milestones. Some were quicker and some were a
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little slower, and that's okay. One of our biggest joys
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is watching our kids find their passions. You never really
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know what's going to click with each child. One might
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love sports, another might be all about music or art.
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The best part, we get a front row seat to
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all of it. I remember when one of our sons
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got into football for the first time and he was
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so little, running around in this oversized helmet. Just watching him,
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we seen that for most of our boys. Our boys
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started out doing wrestling, So just seeing them out there
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on a mat trying to throw a bigger kid around.
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I loved that. I loved it, and just to be
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there to see their skins ill and their confidence and
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it's just incredible to see how much they grow. And
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then there are kids who love to build, to draw,
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to cook, each of them carving out their own interest.
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I kind of got lucky because my boys they all
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pretty much loved the same sports, basketball and football. And
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then the girls were cheer and even down to my
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seven and eight year old, they love to cheer, They
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love to dance. Both of them want to do dance
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or gymnastics or something. Just to be able to watch that,
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it's so amazing. I'm so glad that I am the
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parent that is able to attend their stuff and watch
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them from very little all the way up and hell
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now where they're out on their own some of them,
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and they're working and they're creating a path to start
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their own family and journey. I love how each kid
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is different. Some take to things right away, Others struggle
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but push through, and that persistence is just as rewarding
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to watch. You see their character develop with every challenge
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they take on. It is so amazing to see as
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a parent. I think one of my favorite parts of
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watching our kids grow is seeing their relationships with each other.
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My boys did football together and my girls did cheer
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different age range, but Maddie started younger cheer and Morgan
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was just in the older cheer, almost gonna graduate when
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Maddie was doing her so it was kind of great
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that Morgan could be there to help her do her stances,
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do her cheers because she knew all them cheers before Mattie.
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In a big family, there are bound to be arguments,
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let's be real. There are plenty of that, but there's
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also so much love between our children. I love catching
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those little moments when they're helping each other out, sharing
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inside jokes and standing up for each other, because it
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shows me how much they mean to each other. The
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older ones teaching the younger ones things sometimes in ways
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we could never expect it, and as a parent, it
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just melt your heart, Like when one of our older
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boys taught his little brother how to ride a bike.
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I mean they even taught their sisters how to ride
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a bike. Gavin was out there all the time teaching
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Torren how to ride a bike and just being able
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to watch that. I was like, I love how our
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kids are together. He was so patient, running beside her,
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cheering her on, and when she finally got it, they
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both celebrated like they had just won a championship. There
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was hooting and hollering and all kinds of noise. I
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love that. Or being able to watch my daughter Morgan
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teach her brothers how to drive a stick shift car.
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That was funny because nobody knew how to drive a
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stick shift. Morgan learned first, and she was teaching her brothers.
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It was hilarious because they're like, there's no way my
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sister knows how to drive stick before we do. But
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guess what she did now. Watching them grow isn't easy.
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The teen years come with their own set of challenges.
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They start to pull away a little form their own opinions,
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and sometimes they don't want mom and dad around as much.
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We've kind of been blessed because our kids invite us
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to their house and do things with them, and it's
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just fun to be able to say, yeah, I'm going
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to my son's house or yeah I'm going to my
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daughter's house because they want you there. They invited you
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for a reason, and that means a lot to assess parents,
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But even in those moments, there's joy because watching them
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grow into their own person is incredible, seeing them make decisions,
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develop values and step into independence. It's bittersweet, but it's beautiful.
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It's really hard to explain because some people don't have kids,
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and I'm always telling my kids, when you have kids,
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you'll understand what I'm talking about. And before you know it,
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they're graduating, moving on to their careers and starting families
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of their own. That is also a beautiful thing. I
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think seeing your kids become parents is amazing because you
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get to see them teach their kids what they learned
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from you, and realizing that one day they'll be the
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ones raising their kids and hopefully they'll take a little
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bit of what you taught them and teach their own
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And that's what I've already experienced and watched as three
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of our children have had their own children. So it's
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an amazing feeling. There are nights when I sit back
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and think about how fast it's all gone. The days
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feel long, but the years they fly by. I mean,
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I still remember when my last baby, Anna was born.
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It was almost like I can remember like it was
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yesterday because of all the stuff that we went through.
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She was born so early. Now she's seven. It just
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goes so fast. And I tell my kids, when you
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guys have kids, and even our daughter that has a
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little girl. I'm always telling her, you know, suck up
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all of this because they grow quick, and now she's
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starting to see that for herself. One moment you're rocking
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them to sleep, and the next they're telling you about
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their future plans. It goes that quick. But you know what,
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I wouldn't trade it for anything. Watching them grow is
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one of the greatest gifts in my life. It's proof
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that love, time, and effort really do shape people. And
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I feel so grateful that we get to be part
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of their journey. I'm so thankful that we have raised
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our kids the way we have because they're all close
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and I want them to pass that on to their
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own children. To keep the bond together with your siblings,
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it's important. My kids are really close to their nieces
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and nephews, and the reason for that is because they
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aren't close to their aunts and uncles like they want
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to be, so they want that bond with their nieces
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and nephews. The nieces and nephews in Wisconsin are a
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little bit hard to bond with because you're not there.
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You don't get to see them all the time, but
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they try and stay in touch with them because it
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is important for a child. And that's how I feel
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about being a grandma is I'm always, always wanted to
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be with my grandbabies because it's so good to have
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a grandparent in your life. I lost my grandparents when
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I was little, so I didn't have that. But when
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I married Jeremy, his grandma became a huge part of
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my life and I've learned a lot from her, and
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I want my grandbabies to learn a lot from me
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and my husband, because it's important for kids to know
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their grandparents and for you to be a part of
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their life, and each one of them should be treated
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the same. My kids struggle with that every single day
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because they don't hear a lot from their grandparents and
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aunts and uncles. I don't want that for my kids.
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I want my kids to be a big part of
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their nieces and nephews' lives. And it ain't easy, like
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I said, because some live far away, but just to
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be there, even if it's a phone caller of video chat,
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it's better than nothing at all. So as I continue
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to watch my kids grow up, I wish I could
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slow time down. I wish I could put us in
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a time machine and slow it way down because it
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goes by so fast. And once your kids, I would say,
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once they get through middle school, it's like time just
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flies by. You want them out of elementary school and stuff,
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but once they hit fifth grade, it's over and no time.
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It's almost like the blink of an eye. I want
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to cherish all those memories because I can remember from
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the time our oldest was little all the way up
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tell they graduated, and I can remember. It's almost like
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a movie that plays on repeat. I don't want to
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forget that. I want to remember that, and it just
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makes it even more interesting when they embark on their
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own journey, because you're seeing them become a mother, a father.
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It's amazing. I cannot wait to see where the younger
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girls end up, because they have such big dreams of
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what they want to be when they're older. My little Anna,
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she tells us all the time that she wants to
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be a doctor, a brain doctor, and I think that
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is because she has gone through so much with neurology
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and brain scans and all of that stuff. She wants
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to be the doctor to help that child. And I
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honestly think with everything she's gone through that she will
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succeed at that, and I cannot wait to see if
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that's the path she takes. Each one of my kids
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had different ideas of what they wanted to be growing up.
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I don't think any of them have followed the path
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that they wanted to go. They all changed a little
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bit in some way of the path they wanted to go.
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Morgan always wanted to do something with kids, but I thought, maybe,
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you know, counseling or something like that, because she's really
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good with children. But she decided to take the path
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of being a teacher. And that's okay, because we need
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good teachers. We need someone like her that is caring
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and compassionate and loves kids. And a lot of that
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is because of being raised in a big family with
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little siblings. She grew up. You know, she is very
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protective of her sisters and even her brothers. But she
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always said, Mom, the boys are boys, they can defend themselves.
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The girls not so much. So She's always been real
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protective of the littler ones. And I mean even the
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bigger boys are protective of the girls, especially. You know,
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I always hear them say no boyfriends, or no this,
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or are you talking to a boy. You know, they're
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always after the little ones, and I sure hope my
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younger girls. I hope they wait to have a boyfriend
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because they need to be able to find their self
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and enjoy life before they run into that. But all
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of our kids are pretty good. Just being able to
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watch them grow up is amazing. And anybody who has
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kids knows what I'm talking about when I say that
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it's sad to see them grow up because you always
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want them to stay little. But on the other hand,
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you want them to grow up and you want to
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watch them create their own journey and start their own families.
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So if you're in the thick of parenting, whether you've
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got little ones running around or teenagers pushing for independence,
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take a moment to appreciate the ride. You know, every stage,
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every challenge, and every joy is part of something bigger.
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Thanks for joining us today and we are the Handsens.
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We'd love to hear about the joys you've found in
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watching your kids grow. You can send us a message
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on our Facebook page at we are the Handsens. You
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can also send us email We are the Hansens Show
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at gmail dot com and do me a favor and
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go to our YouTube channel. We are the Hansens and
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subscribe to our channel to enjoy all of our wonderful podcasts.
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Thank you all, and we appreciate you being here with
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us